For all intensive purposes this IS the next Dave Mirra game, but wrapped in a different, more controversial package. The game also very much sticks to the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 formula, even moreso than Activition's own BMX title, Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX. The way the missions/goals and environments are setup are almost identical to THPS4. Of course, replacing more wholesome goals, are those requiring you to shuttle hookers around, or encourage dogs to copulate in the street. Missions are provided to you by various individuals, and they are all acted out in realtime cutscenes complete with voice (along with more 4-letter curse words than an episode of The Sopranos).

The overall goal of the game is to make it into Scores strip club as a VIP, to get to know (via DVD video) the girls a little more intimately. Those who religiously listen to Howard Stern, or who live in the NY area, should be most familiar with the place. Really, none of it is all that shocking, though the amount of enjoyment and humor one could find in the game definitely depends on the individual. The game definitely does not attempt to take itself seriously, and I personally found most of it hilarious.

The trick engine is an enhanced version of what was found in the earlier Mirra games, and anyone familiar with any of the recent games in the genre could pick up and play it right away. Most tricks and stunts are pulled off with ease, and the environments offer plenty of obstacles to facilitate them. Z-Axis knows what they are doing, and just because the subject matter doesn't appeal to everyone, does not automatically make the game bad. It isn't.

Visually, on the Xbox, the game is not far behind Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, and definitely a notch better than Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX. The environments are a bit more cartoon-like, but the framerate is stuck at 60fps, and the textures and lighting both above average. The animation is sometimes robotic looking, but on the whole, it's pretty good. The bikers, both guys and girls, are actually both constructed and textured decently as well. The create-a-rider mode is deep enough, and it's possible to create nearly naked riders (of both sexes) right from the getgo. Of course, even more risqué options are available later on, in the form of topless females. That's not an option in the slightly-censored PlayStation 2 version. Comparatively speaking, the Xbox version definitely looks the best, and in general, all versions look quite a bit better than what was seen in earlier screenshots.

Music is the typical current set of licensed modern tunes, and most of it you've heard in other games of the type before. Thankfully, Acclaim keeps the music in the background, and focuses more on ambient environmental sounds and voices.

The one real problem I have with the game is the camera. It is far too sensitive in the default setting, and sways around way too much to the point of becoming nauseating. Switching to the far away "chase" view helps calm it down a bit, though before that, my head was spinning after short play session. I also would have loved to see an online mode in at least one version of the game, but alas, that option was not included this time.

Even though BMX XXX doesn't really contribute much to the genre, I found it to be enjoyable. A few more modes of play would have been nice, though the Hardcore (Career) Mode has enough goals/missions to keep most gamers busy for a while. The content, although definitely not for everyone, is a change of pace in a genre where all the games were staring to look/play nearly identical. That change of pace will undoubtedly continue to push the game to a "controversial" level. I'm not exactly an Acclaim fan, but the company should at least be applauded for pushing the limits of the ESRB ratings. I don't consider the theme to be a "desperate attempt" to sell the game, and as anyone familiar with the Dave Mirra series knows, it sold fairly well and had a more than decent following.